Republican senators, headed by Sen. Marco Rubio, are urging Congress and the Biden White House to identify the Taliban as an international terrorist organization. The GOP lawmakers likewise emphasized that the government created by the Taliban should be classed as a relic of terrorism.
Republican senators are urging the Biden administration to classify the Taliban as an “international terrorist organization”
On Wednesdays, Rubio, together with other Republican senators, rolled out a law that would forbid governmental agencies and departments from employing any act which would support the claim of governmental power by the Taliban over Afghanistan.
The bill pushed by the senator from Florida is supported by other GOP lawmakers. This includes namely Senators Tommy Tuberville of Alabama, Dan Sullivan of Alaska, Thom Tillis of North Carolina, Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia, and Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming.
“Republican Sen. Marco Rubio is demanding Congress and the Biden administration designate the Taliban as a foreign terrorist organization and its new government as a state sponsor of terrorism” #DoNotRecogniseTaliban https://t.co/W07Mf3hCL0
— Maria Hayat (@mariahayat_) September 15, 2021
Included in the bill is the demand for yearly reporting and assessments from the State Department where nations that have “diplomatic relations” with the Taliban will be named. Incorporated in the list are other international groups that consciously give aid to the insurgents.
The State Department is advised to give annual accounting on whether Pakistan is providing a safe haven to terrorist groups. The legislation proposed by Rubio and other Republican senators also taps the Department of Treasury to impose penalties on individuals that give aid to the Taliban.
On aspects of humanitarian assistance, the law would urge the USAID to give a guarantee that any aid going to the war-torn country will not arrive into the hands of the Taliban.
Senator Rubio: Afghanistan is becoming a safe harbor for other terrorist groups
On top of this, the bill likewise asks for an assessment of if the importation of rare minerals violates the prohibition on shipping goods sourced through forced labor.
The senator from Florida added that without a doubt, Afghanistan under Taliban rule poses a big threat to the security concerns of the U.S. and its partners and allies. This is true not only in the Middle East but as well as in Central Asia.
According to Senator Rubio, after the Biden administration’s failed disastrous removal of the U.S. military from Afghanistan, the country is becoming a safe harborage for other terrorist organizations that loathes the United States.
Given all the factors in place by early summer, if in fact the people in charge of our foreign policy & military didn’t see the rapid collapse of the Afghan government coming, we have the wrong people in charge pic.twitter.com/8VZIc0Re2b
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) September 14, 2021
The Republican senator continued, alleging that unfortunately, Biden and his administration exhibit no signs of treating the Taliban as terrorists. Rubio then emphasized that for this reason, it is important for Congress to step up and address the “new reality” in order to make sure Americans will stay safe.
The law proposed by the Republican lawmakers came a week after the Taliban group proclaimed they are forming a “new government” after they seized the country.
